We had an amazing time today celebrating the students' hard work in raising funds for the PTA fundraiser! The morning kicked off with plenty of laughter as students entered school to see Ms. Daly duct-taped to the wall, and the fun continued in the afternoon with Andy the Eagle riding around to everyone’s delight. It was the perfect way to wrap up the first nine weeks, celebrating not only the achievement of our fundraising goal but also recognizing the dedication our students have shown throughout this first nine weeks.

A huge thank you to all the families who joined us for the Fun Dash and Bash event on Tuesday. We love seeing our community come together in support of one another. Your involvement is part of what makes Andrews such a special place, and we truly appreciate your support. If you're still working on gathering pledges, please note that the deadline has been extended to ensure that all pledges come through. The final day to submit donations is Tuesday, October 15. If we reach $15,000, the grade level that raised the most money will get to see their teachers—and our admin team—transformed into a human sundae at the second nine weeks assembly!

A quick reminder: today is the deadline for PACE referrals. All referrals must be submitted by 5:00 p.m., and any received after this time will not be considered for testing this school year. Please see the newsletter below for additional information.

We hope you and your family have a wonderful fall break next week. We look forward to welcoming everyone back on Monday, October 21.

Have a fantastic weekend!

- Ms. Daly and Ms. Dias

• Fall Break Reminder
• PACE Referral Information - Deadline TODAY at 5pm
• Allen Americans Plano ISD Spirit Night
  
• Fire Prevention Poster Contest Winners
• Socks for the Sole Drive
• Leftover Candy?
• Personal Student Devices - Phones and Smart Watches
• How to Report an Absence in Skyward
  
• MAP Testing Results
• Communication Protocol for Addressing Concerns
• Counselor's Corner
• Red Ribbon Week Poster Contest
• Join Andrews PTA!
  
• PTA Yearbook 2024-2025
  
• PTA After School Programs Fall Semester 24-25
• 2024-2025 Free & Reduced Meal Application
  
• 2024-2025 Plano ISD Calendar
• 2024-2025 Volunteer Application - VOLY
• Fall Semester Lunch Visitors
  
• Fall Semester Musical Mornings
• Stay Connected

Please click the presentation below to learn more about the PACE program as well as the referral process. The deadline to refer students for testing this year is October, 11th by 5:00 pm. Referral forms are available in both English and Spanish below.

Would you like to have a fun outing with family and friends while also supporting Andrews Elementary at the same time? Consider going to the Allen Americans game on Wednesday, October 30. Tickets purchased through the QR code on the flyer below will have a portion of the ticket sales donated directly back to Andrews Elementary. Additionally, if we are the school with the most sales then Biscuit the mascot will make a special appearance at Andrews Elementary. Invite your friends and family to join you to make it a fun and special night.

**Please note that ONLY tickets purchased through the QR codes will direct the sales donation back to the school. Tickets purchased through the Allen Americans website will not have a place to type your school of choice, thus not donating a portion of sales back to the school or counting towards Andrews total ticket sales for Biscuit's visit.**

Join us in giving back! The Plano ISD PALs Socks for the Sole Drive plays a crucial role in supporting individuals facing homelessness or financial hardships in our community. Together, we can provide comfort and promote the well-being of our neighbors.

As we are about to wrap up our first nine-weeks of instruction, we wanted to send a reminder about cell phones and smart watches. While students are allowed to possess personal cell phones and smart watches for safety purposes, these devices must remain turned off and in their backpacks during the instructional day (this includes before/after school while in the gym, during lunch and recess). Elementary students do not need their cell phones or watches at school for academic purposes. Electronics such as these often become a distraction in the classroom. We ask parents to help us by not texting students during the school day. If you need something urgent communicated to your child before the end of the school day, such as a change of dismissal, please contact the front office 469-752-3902. If your child is too sick to be at school, the school nurse will contact you directly. Students should not be contacting parents and telling them that they are not feeling well.

Per page 53 of the Plano ISD Student Handbook, "If a student uses a telecommunication device without authorization during the school day, the device will be confiscated. The student/parent may pick up the confiscated telecommunications device from the Principal's office." We appreciate your prompt attention to this matter. Thank you.

Plano ISD Student Handbook

Please read the attached letter regarding the process for addressing concerns in Plano ISD.

This past month, the PTA earned the Head Start Award by achieving 75% or more of last year's total membership already.

To help continue to build membership momentum, the PTA will award the GRADE LEVEL with the highest membership percentage during the membership drive throughout the next month. The winning grade level will receive a POPSICLE PARTY during and EXTRA RECESS period!

Make sure your Membership Toolkit account is updated with your student's correct grade level, so his/her class gets the credit. If you have siblings, all the grade levels listed on your account will get credit.

Ask your whole family and neighborhood to join today! For any questions, reach out to membership@andrewspta.org.

The PTA is excited to offer four after school program options for the Fall 24-25 school year. Programs offered this semester will be Chess, Robotics, Challenge Island and All Star Soccer. Registration forms and information about each program are located below. If you would like to print off the registration form, click on the program's image below and it will take you to either the form or website you can complete your registration. Please remember that attendance for these programs is first come, first served and limited to active PTA families. If you are not a PTA member, and would like to participate in the After School Programs, information on how to join can be found above.

Students who qualified for free or reduced-price meals at the end of last school year are eligible to participate at their current eligibility status for the first 30 operating days of the 2024-25 school year or until a new eligibility determination is made, whichever comes first.

In order for meal benefits to continue, a federal meal application for the 2024-25 school year must be completed. Students with no application on file after 30 calendar days will return to full-paid eligibility status effective September 25, 2024.

Households that have submitted a federal meal application for free or reduced-priced meals for the 2024-25 school year do not need to reapply.

Households who wish to apply for free or reduced-priced meals will need to complete an online federal meal application for the current school year via the website at www.pisd.edu/mealprogram.

Applications will be processed within 10 business days. Eligibility notification letters will be sent via email. If families have not received the letter in their inbox, please check junk and spam folders.

If you would like to volunteer during the 2024-2025 school year, an application must be completed through Plano ISD's volunteer system, VOLY. Applications must be completed each school year for you to be eligible to volunteer.

Returning volunteers can access the application for this year with their same username and password from before to complete this year's application, orientation and background check.

New and Returning Volunteer Applications -

When you are done the following will be GREEN:

Volunteer Type - Plano ISD Volunteer Application - Orientation

When you are done the following will be YELLOW:

Background Check Form

There will be a PURPLE box stating "PENDING" for Plano Background Check Application.

Families who would like to eat lunch with their child will be able to do so utilizing the designated guest tables in the cafeteria. Space will be limited so we ask that families who wish to participate sign up in advance. As a courtesy to others, we ask that families only register for ONE SLOT PER STUDENT during this semester.

Additional information can be found on the Andrews Lunch Visitors - Fall 2024 Sign-Up linked below.

This year, Ms. Riordan will once again host Musical Mornings for students on selected days. If your child would like to participate this semester, please choose a day using the sign-up linked below.

Did you know that Plano ISD has an app for smartphones?

On the app you can:

• View student grades and attendance
  
• Access school and staff info
  
• View news stories
  
• Receive important alerts
  
• View calendar info
  
• Access PISD's tipline

More information can be found at: https://www.pisd.edu/mobileapp

Visit the Google Play or Apple App Store to download it today!

Plano ISD is implementing a text messaging option to provide our community with more ways to receive school and district information. Opt in today by texting “Y” to 67587.

If you don’t opt in manually, and the district has a cell phone number for you, you will receive a text message from Plano ISD in the coming days inviting you to opt in. The message will read:

“Plano Independent School District messages. Reply Y to confirm, HELP 4 info. Msg&data rates may apply. Msg freq varies. schoolmessenger.com/tm”

You must reply to this text message with “Y” to opt in to continue receiving text messages from the district. For more information, please visit the Text Opt in webpage.